Corrupted
by DILestrudel
Summary: One-shot. Tim always knew that his final words would be ones of concern for Jay. Companion one-shot fic to this one with same prompt written by ImprovWrites. Story Regret and Remorse. You should check it out as well...


"Jay!?" Tim called out, his tone hushed and strained. The sun had long ago set on Rosswood Park, and the thin beam of a flashlight only provided so much light. Tim was alone now. Jay had said that he was going to go check something out, and had asked Tim to stay where he was. He had not specified what he was 'checking out' or why he couldn't come, and Tim was starting to worry immensely. Running a hand through his hair, Tim paced around in the small clearing between the trees where Jay had last left him, berating himself for allowing Jay to go off alone. "Stupid. Stupid!" Tim muttered to himself, playing the flashlight on the trunks of trees in a weak effort to find Jay from his current location.

Night in Rosswood was much more frightening. It was like the whole forest sucked into itself, void of any noise that wasn't eerie and supernatural. The dark hid things so much better than the day did, and given the things that Rosswood generally hid, Tim had a valid excuse for nearly breaking his neck with the speed that he turned around to face the sound of a snapping twig. The sound of static came from the camera strapped to Tim's chest, which he barely registered. Had he turned around that fast or was it something much more concerning? The beam of light from the flashlight went wild, searching the area Tim had heard the noise from. It was difficult to tell, but maybe there was something there...maybe. The piercing headache that usually precluded the Operator for Tim wasn't occurring, and that relieved Tim. But considering how many beings were trying to kill he and Jay, Tim could hardly be too relieved. "Hey!" Tim said threateningly, training his flashlight on the tiniest movement from behind an especially thick tree. Was that more static from his camera? If it was, Tim ignored it, instead stepping a few feet closer to the tree, searching it with his flashlight. "I know you're there! Come out!" he said, his tone almost a challenge. To his surprise, Jay stepped slowly out from behind the tree.

The face that Tim illuminated with the flashlight was almost unrecognizable. Had it not been for the 24/7 contact that Tim had maintained with Jay for months now, he might not have recognized the gaunt figure standing before him. The dark circles around Jay's eyes made him look as if he had been punched in the face and the bruises were healing, between a deep purple and a waxy yellow. Jay didn't look like Jay at all, with his eyes glazed and unfocused, staring past Tim and into the dark over his shoulder. "Jay?" Tim ventured, relieved that his friend had returned but incredibly worried at his sudden turn. It had been a few weeks since their last encounter with the Operator, and neither one of them had wanted to talk about how much it had...drained Jay. He hadn't been his usual self since the attack, barely sleeping. It seemed unlikely that his lack of sleep had caught up with him in the brief time he had been out of Tim's sight, because he certainly hadn't looked this shitty before. "Jay?" Tim ventured again, fear creeping into his voice now because his friend was not responding.

Tim stepped closer, reaching out to touch Jay's face. "Jay?" he repeated once more, trying to get Jay to focus on him. Anything to get that glazed look out of his eye. Was he seizing? "Jay, what's wrong?" Suddenly, Jay's eyes locked onto Tim's. There was something wrong now. His pupils were blown wide, combining with his dark circles to make him look crazy. Possessed. Tim did register the sound of static this time, his hand stopped midway to Jay's face in a gesture of concern. He didn't even defend himself when Jay lunged at him, something flashing in his hand, caught in the falling beam of the flashlight as it went spinning out of Tim's hand. Tim couldn't stop looking into Jay's eyes, which hadn't left his. They weren't Jay's eyes. His friend was gone and all Tim could think was "No, no, no!" because this was what happened to him, not Jay. Tim had failed him, allowed the Operator to get to him. Disgust with himself registered briefly to Tim, before being masked entirely by pain. Tim screamed as Jay dug the blade of his cheap pocket knife into his shoulder, his eyes finally leaving the dark eyes that no longer belonged to his friend.


End file.
